Why do we watch football? Is it to be part of something bigger than ourselves? A group that celebrates victories and mourns defeats together? Or is it simply to be entertained? I choose the latter. Football is like art, creativity thrives, and easily catches our attention. The movements players make with a ball at their feet are enough to get me out of the chair and out practicing them on my own. As any fan would know, it’s one thing to dribble by an opponent…it’s another to humiliate them.
But in the growing “business” of football, results are key and every movement has the responsibility of being as efficient as possible. And so as a fan, I find myself appreciating both sides of the game. This business has driven the competition to unimaginable heights. But it’s also what makes the games so intense. Sitting on the edge of our seats waiting to see who scores the vital goal. Perhaps the less obvious skills masked by the players are an added treat. Or if we’re really lucky- a skill bound to go viral on social media appears.
But one shouldn’t forget how most professional footballers grew up playing; in the streets. Hours and hours spent on hard courts, where winners stay, and the most creative tricks are invented and experimented. You don’t play for contracts and money, but for respect and pride, both yours and others. So, while the stars of the sport today wear studs in some of the greatest stadiums in the world, let’s not forget the barefoot children running around the streets.
Perhaps the closest thing you’ll find to street football today is on futsal courts. Maybe the forgotten side of football, this way of playing doesn’t receive the same money or support as the traditional game. But it’s a museum of creativity, that it’s grass counterpart doesn’t seem to showcase as often. So let’s keep on playing futsal- and never forget what this art form has to offer.
